Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-04-23
DRIVEN OUT.
ALIvELY SCENE AMoxG raE WOMAN
sUYFRAaIsTs.
Mrs. Blake Speaks to Brooklyn Delegate
and Makes Eer Leave
the Room.
New York Timesl

a mauye embroidered silk dress and a
spruce little bonnet, walked into the
Masonic Temple yesterday morning,
blitbely alert and happily nonchalant.
II was easy to see that she expected a
pleasant time at the coming executive
session of the annual Convention OF the
New York State Woman-Suifrage As
sociation. She bowed graciously to a
motley little gathering of liberty-lovlng
ladies, who were showing how dear
their rights were by talking volubly. .
But there were two who noticed
Mrs. Blake's familiar nod, and declined
to respond to it. One of these ladies'
was Mrs. Sophroina Twitchel, the au-
thority on Parliamentary rules aud
Wall street wickedness, who smiled
scornfully at Mrs. Blake, as much as
to say al am here, and don't you
forget it." The other was Miss Calista
Doty, who prides herself on her ex-
elusive and euphonious name. Miss
Doty parts her hair in the middle, and
invariably wears a kind of perverted
Gainsborough hat, the growth of which
seems to have been stopped by abnor-
nal methods. Something in the gaze
of these two ladies seemed to discon-
cert Mrs. Blake. She turned and
glanced at Mrs. Twitchel.
"Oh," said the latter loudly, I'm
a delegate from Brooklyn; here are my
credentials. "
"Have you paid your dollarl' - asked
Mrs. Blake.
Mrs. Twitchel fished about in an inn
possible looking satchel for tiny
portemonnaie. She found it and alb
stracted a dollar. "Here it is" she
said.
Mrs. Twitchel," said Mrs. Blake
sweetly, " | must order you to leave
the room while We are appointing COM
mittees."
Every one was surprised except Mrs.
Twitchel. Shelooked positively pleased.
81 leave the room " she exclaimed in
a tone suggestive of one of the early
martyrs. 81 shall do nothing of the
kind"
81 insist upon Mrs. Twitchefs
leavingthe room, persisted Mrs. Blake.
"And | decline, said Mrs. Twitchel.
Mrs. Blake, thereupon, forgetting
that discretion is the better part of
valor, advanced toward Mrs. Twitchel
and, grasping her arm, pointed to the
door.
"Out of that door," she said, fu-
riously.
But the tide of anger emanating from
Mrs. Blake's dark eyes was stemmed
for the moment, as a loud voice rang
through the room, and Miss Calista
Doty, pressing her perverted Gainsbo-
rough tighter upon her head, rose.
Mrs. Twitchel shall not go" she
said, in stentorian tones. "She has
every right to be here, and she shall re-
main. A woman who makes such n
command as You have done, Mrs.
Blake, is too narrow-minded to be our
president. You have acted in that
capacity too long |, for one, should
be glad to see some one substituted in
your place" "
Mls. Blake looked white and nervous,
but said nothing Several ladies' came
to the rescue. Mrs Twitchel left the
room OF her own sweet will, and order
was restored. Mrs. Blake subsequently
declined to say anything about Mrs.
Twitchel. and efforts were made TO keep
the disagreement quiet. 1t was, how
ever, earnestly discussed during the
afternoon by every one who knew any
thing about it.
Said Mrs. DIR. Margaret A. Miller !:
"1here are as many factions among
these suffraSists as there are among the
political organizations OF men. There
is no one who can do the work of presi-
dent better than Mrs. Blake, but there
is too much | am, can, | do about
her to please people" And DR.. Mil
ler's views We're echoed by several.
The afternoon session was opened by
Mrs. Blake quietly. She failed to call
the meeting to order, but began her
address rapidly. This was severely
criticised by the ladies. "Our defeat
at Albany" she said, "was not rebuff
to MS. 1t may be temporary check,
but that is all. A few days ago we saw
the buds touched with frost and the
green grass under snow. Was that a
proof that we shall have no summer?
So that check we received is no indica-
ton that we shall not be successful"
Mrs. Blake, talking of the defeat of
the Crosby high-license bill, said that
Mr.. Crosby had been approached again
and again by women who would have
advocated his cause, but he declined to
listen to them or to consider their feel
ings, and the result was that he had
been defeated.
Mrs. Beckwith. of Brooklyn, said
she had been called an upstart in the
cause. That might be, but she was
thoroughly tired of asking men for
what belonged to her.
Il wish we had thousands and thou
sands of such upstarts,' said Mrs.
Blake, fayoring Mrs. Beckwith with a
sweetest smile.
Mrs. Marguerite Moore, who has
not been long in this country, said that
she went to Albany the other day and
for the first time heard debate in the
Assembly. Il heard the chaplain
pray" She said, "and if my faith
hadn't been very strong it would have
been swept away. 1t seemed so absurd
to ask wisdom for the Legislature. Mrs.
Moore inveighed against American poll
tics, and said she had heard that Mayor
Hewitt paid out s25, 600 to be elected.
" We don't want to put the heads of
men on the block" she said. "That
would only show how empty many of
them are. But we want q share in the
Government to make it pure and up
right"
Speeches were made by Mrs. Joslyn
Gage, Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker,
and Augustus A. Leyey.